Darkness Rises
by Awsomaniatica
Summary: Season 3. Everyone begins to move on after the near destruction of the Earth. The Reach has been personally escorted out of the galaxy, yet they won't be the last problem the heroes have to contend with. It's far from over when the Light still has their hidden agenda and someone is missing. Starts a couple months after Season 2 Finale.
1. Prologue

**Darkness Rises**

_Season 3. Everyone begins to move on after the near destruction of the Earth. The Reach has been personally escorted out of the galaxy, yet they won't be the last problem the heroes have to contend with. It's far from over when the Light still has their hidden agenda and someone is missing. Starts a couple months after Season 2 Finale._

_Disclaimer: It is very important to point out that I have absolutely no ownership to Young Justice whatsoever. There would have been a happier ending to Endgame or I would strongly push for Season 3 to come out, no matter what it took. I guess I'll just have to settle with writing my own._

* * *

**Watchtower**

**August 15 16:17**

The punching bag didn't stand a chance. Artemis was dressed in black yoga pants and a red tank top as she occupied in the training room of the watchtower. The blonde archer continued to hit the hard bag with great force, sweat dripping down as her loose ponytail was frizzled. She took long deep breaths as her fists made contact, her leg occasionally kicking the bag. The blaring music from the stereo was meant to keep her mind cleared and focused on what was in front of her. It didn't help much.

It had been nearly two months since the Reach Invasion ended. Since Wally disappeared from existence. Artemis struck the bag harder, wanting to push away the impending thoughts. She had done so well today not breaking down. She had to keep it up, yet it was difficult when half of your whole being felt empty since that fateful day. Artemis grabbed the bag and held it still as she leaned her forehead against it, catching her breath. She closed her eyes and immediately saw Wally's face appear in her mind, grinning at her. She barely opened her eyes and stared at the blackness of the bag for another moment before standing up straight.

Artemis had not slept much lately as Wally invaded her dreams. She longed to stay asleep forever if it meant seeing him, but it always panged her when she awoke with the hard truth. He really wasn't there with her anymore. Most days, she stayed at the watchtower to train or out on missions and patrols, anxious to stay strong. That's how she learned to act while growing up under her father's training and how she would continue to live. Just like the Greek Goddess she was named after, Artemis Crock was a strong warrior that never gave up.

Artemis grabbed up the hand towel and wiped her face before proceeding to reach for a water bottle. She turned off the stereo when she noticed the League's magician standing in the doorway, watching her. Artemis took a seat on the bench and gulped down more water as Zatanna approached her.

"That was some intensive exercise."

"I have to keep on top of my game." Artemis merely replied, wiping her face again.

Zatanna took a seat next to the worn young woman and studied her with a concerned gaze. "How are you doing, Artemis?"

Artemis let out a drawn out breath, staring at the ground. "Better,"

There was a pause before Zatanna continued softly, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We will all understand if you need to take a break, to take some time off from all of this."

Artemis shook her head and stood up. "I would rather be here than alone."

Zatanna gave her a small smile. "Very well. Don't push yourself too hard and we're here whenever you need any of us."

Artemis walked toward the hall, turning for a moment back to her friend. "Thanks Zee,"

* * *

**August 15 18:39**

After cleaning up a bit, Artemis continued on with her daily routine of visiting the memorial garden. She stood in front of the hologram of Kid Flash, his bold image looming over her. His smile instantly warmed her heart as it always did when she saw him. Just not as much as it would have if he was standing in front of her in the flesh. She found comfort often talking to him about her day.

"The twins were born last night. Dawn and Don. They seem so little, but they are healthy, like the rest of the family. They both have red hair like their mother… and you. Barry and Iris named the boy after you. Donald Wallace Allen. His eyes are more of a greenish blue already so he'll most likely soon have the West family green eyes." She lightly laughed, "It was a bit awkward for Bart to hold his father as an infant at first. I've never seen him so squirmish, but he soon got over it. Dawn Jae is an absolute angel, so sweet and quiet. Iris doesn't think that will last much longer."

Artemis paused for a moment as her eyes began to get watery. "Lian started walking and is getting into all sorts of trouble, able to grab things easier now that they are more in her reach. She often asks for you when I go to visit. She misses you… like I do."

Artemis closed her gray eyes as a few tears escaped. She tightened her lips in refusal to cry. She eventually reopened them to see someone standing nearby from the corner of her eye. Kaldur nodded in greeting when Artemis turned to face him.

"My apologies for the intrusion," He politely replied.

"It alright Kaldur," Artemis assured him as she wiped away the few tears with her hand. "I'm just visiting Wally."

He nodded and gave a tiny smile before turning back to face Tula's memoir, his eyes briefly flickering over it. The Atlantian then proceeded to walk over next to Artemis and stand in front of Wally's. He bowed in respect to it before looking at Artemis and giving her clasped hands a gentle pat.

"Things will turn out alright,"

"I know," Artemis said, "It helps me to feel better talking to him. A little habit I guess I picked up from Dick."

She was told a while ago by their best friend after learning his identity, that he often visited his parents graves to find comfort through hard times. He picked that up from Bruce. The thought of the former boy wonder made her miss him as well. Artemis hadn't seen Dick basically since the memorial service for Wally. He apparently was still on leave from the team.

"Do you know how he is doing?" Artemis asked. Kaldur shook his head.

"He says that he needs some more time to think."

* * *

**Batcave**

**August 15 22: 02**

Nightwing sat in front of the computer with his mask off. His fingers glided over the keys as he sifted through the various points of information that he gathered so far. The limited calculations they could siffer from the chrysalis's functions, the Reach's virus, the wide range kinetic energy emitted from a speedster along with the rate of speed they could travel.

"Wally was so much better at all this science stuff…" Dick mumbled to himself. He narrowed his eyes at the screen as his fist clenched. Wally West wasn't there to do all this research for him. He had to figure it out himself to find out what happened to his best friend.

Nightwing went back to the Arctic a few times since the incident, trying to pick up any sort of signatures technology wise and record it. He knew that Blue Beetle had already done the same and came up empty, but Dick wasn't going to give up. He even hacked into the League's database to collect the information Blue found for extra comparison. As far as he knew, no one caught on to his presence, except Barbara. She vaguely mentioned the occurrence, but soon dropped it, understanding his drive to know.

Dick rubbed his eyes before going back to his research. He didn't turn when he heard footsteps echoing down the stone stairs. Alfred came in with a tray in his hand.

"Welcome back Master Richard," The butler replied, pouring warm tea in a saucer before handing it to the young hero.

"Thanks," Dick replied after taking a sip and setting it down, turning his attention back to the monitor. "It was a slow night in Bludhaven and I'm sure Bruce wouldn't mind if I used the cave for better computer reception. I must have missed him."

Alfred nodded. "He and Master Timothy went out for the night after reports of Two-Face causing trouble."

"So I've heard," Dick said, reviewing some newer calculations he acquired. The butler raised an eyebrow before pouring himself a cup of tea.

"Does this research have to do with what happened two months ago?" Alfred curiously asked, already guessing the answer.

"Yeah," He answered, not wanting to add more.

Alfred picked up the tray and studied the young man for a moment who never turned away from the computer. "Don't stay up too late," He advised. "Everyone does better with a decent night's rest, no matter how heroic they are."

Dick turned to him and gave a small smile. "Thanks, Alfred."

The butler nodded and began his ascent back up the stairs to the manor. The former boy wonder went deep back into his work, wondering how exactly Wally disappeared like that according to reports from the other two speedsters and Blue Beetle. There had to be other factors there that they hadn't picked up on yet.

"I'm not giving up on you Wally,"

* * *

_There you go. A start for my version of Season 3. I needed to get those parts out of my system and Wally's case would definitely be important to this fic. The Lian part was slightly in reference to my story Surprise. I do expect to have the other characters begin to filter in throughout future chapters and missions and such for them, so the next chapter shouldn't be as emotional. There is a potential for DC characters not yet introduced in the show to make an appearance later on. Suggestions throughout are always welcome. I will try to update weekly, but no guarantees. Please leave me a review and tell me what you think so far. :D _


	2. Predicament part 1

_Thank you for all who have reviewed, favorited, and are now following this story. I really appreciate it and hope to live up to some of your expectations. And anticipate having continuous apologies for not updating faster as the story goes along. I'm trying my best and do have a bit of a sometimes hectic life outside of fanfiction. :P _

_To answer some questions: Nightwing would be one to keep looking for answers while many are still grieving and started to accept Wally's fate. There will still be that glimmer of hope in there. And the reason the others know Nightwing's real identity, it is said specifically in the show by M'gann and Wally while hinted that Artemis knew. I can assume that the rest of the original team knows as well. _

_Disclaimer: I own no part of the DC world._

* * *

**AmerTek, Washington D.C. **

**August 18 16:23**

The military base bustled in various activities. Colonel Thomas Weston supervised the weapon in development, a man-portable energy cannon, in various field tests. He and a handful of other men stood behind thickly plated glass as the cannon built up energy before completely deteriorating a hole in the middle of four inch thick sheet of iron.

"Phase one is complete on the BG-60 unit, sir."

Colonel Weston straightened his collar. "Excellent. Prepare for the second stage."

The analyst typed in a few keys and the platform shifted for the next test. Suddenly, small alarms went off in the control room and the platform completely stopped.

The general leaned forward. "Is there a malfunction in the set-up?" He demanded.

Another solider answered, "No sir, we have an intruder alert coming from the west wing compound." As he started to pull up the cameras Weston initiated a lock down, but within moments a few loud booms came from the entrance to the room. The heavy door fell to the ground, a few fists indented in the metal. A large blonde man stepped over the door, grinning.

"I thunk yous military guys would be more of a challenge?" Tommy Terror teased.

As the men stood their ground, scrambling to pull out guns, Tommy easily picked up the door and slammed the now unconscious soldiers into the corner of the wall, trapping them. Tommy's grin widened, wiping his hands together as if from hard work.

"There is nothing like delivering a good beating to brighten my day."

Tommy looked out the thick window at the weapon, failing to notice a soldier coming out from hiding in the corner. The smaller man pulled out a gun and nervously held it out in front of him. Before he could take another step closer, he was taken out by a blow to the back of the head. The groan caught Tommy's attention.

"Ya missed one," Tuppence replied, holding the now unconscious soldier in one arm. Tommy rolled his eyes.

"Put 'im with the rest," He grunted. As his sister tossed the man behind the makeshift barrier, Tommy looked through the window at the weapon.

The colonel strained to raise his voice, "You can't surpass the system without the code and the glass is impenetrable."

Tommy laughed as he grinned at his sister who walked over to join him. "We'll see 'bout that."

Tommy lifted his fists high and brought them down forcefully against the glass. Tuppence prepared to join in when suddenly, a discus glided through the air, hitting Tommy directly in the neck and exploding smoke. He coughed and attempted to wave the smoke away from his face. Tuppence dodged the one that was thrown at her and it hit the glass.

Tuppence glared at their foes. "We got company! It's the runts!"

Robin, Blue Beetle, and Wondergirl emerged through the tattered doorway to attack. Tuppence immediately moved in to swipe at the young heroes. Robin leaped out of the way with Blue towards the corner of the room as Wondergirl advanced forward to meet the charging strong girl. She blocked her attacks with ease. Robin threw more gadgets at Tommy since the smoke had cleared and the he stood strong and enraged. The elder twin widely grinned as the various birdarangs and pellets had no affect on him. Tommy lunged forward as Robin swiftly moved back to avoid.

Blue Beetle flew over and picked up the heavy lodged in metal door, leaning it against the wall and allowing the dazed soldiers to escape. A small red and yellow blur appeared next to Blue, forming a young brunette teenager.

"We need to get them out of here," Blue said, gesturing to some of the injured.

"On it," Bart quickly replied. He struggled to lift up an unconscious man and took off. The colonel stood before Blue Beetle.

"They can't get their hands on the weapon." He ordered as he fixed his slightly tattered uniform.

"And they won't." Blue promised.

Blue aimed his cannon between the two Terrors, trying to decide which target to hit first. Tuppence threw Wondergirl hard against the wall, rendering the smaller blonde momentarily unconscious. Blue prepared to fire when he stopped himself.

"Too much potential damage," He shook his head and shifted back into his regular armor, flying to try to ram Tuppence into the wall.

Tommy tossed Robin hard off his back and across the other side of the room. Seeing the boy wonder on the ground, he rolled his shoulders and cracked his knuckles before turning back to the glass to begin pounding at it again. A few minor cracks formed, causing Tommy to smile and keep going.

Bart zoomed back in to briefly analyze the situation. "Antagonizing time," He said to himself as he took off toward Tommy. The junior speedster picked up a broken piece of the wall and tossed it at him. "Hey, you think you're so strong Pokey?"

Tommy stopped and turned around and growled before grinning menacingly at the Kid. "I remember you shrimpy." Tommy sent various punches."You changed your outfit. Is pink next?"

Bart frowned and rolled his eyes as he ran tight circles around Tommy. The speedster hoped to throw his stronger foe off balance. So far, it was not going well. Tommy reached out and nearly grabbed Bart who had to duck.

Cassie was back up and fighting against Tuppence, leaving Jamie to help Bart with Tommy. Tuppence gripped Wondergirl tight in her grasp as the younger girl struggled.

"Not tough enough, are ya?" The twin teased. Wondergirl stopped and concentrated before flipping both legs up to loosen the grip and inevitably kick Tuppence in the head and toss her back as she staggered. Cassie smiled brightly and had to refrain from celebrating right there. She really had to thank Black Canary later for teaching that move.

Robin got up and pulled out more pellets. "Hey Blue!" He called out. Jamie turned in time for Batman's current protégé to toss him something. "Combine these with your cannon. It should increase the effects and strength, right?"

Jamie nodded and attached the little pellets. As the Terror Twins were close together, Bart noticed Jamie fire the cannon and moved as Robin pulled Cassie aside. The twins were encased in hardened pink goo like material.

"Think this'll hold us?!" Tuppence threatened as she and her brother began to break out.

"Kid, now!" Blue Beetle ordered. Bart zoomed out of the room and came back in, instantly snapping inhibitor collars around their necks. Robin immediately pressed the button to activate right as the twins managed to break through.

"You runts are done for," Tommy declared, throwing a punch at Blue who easily deflected it.

"Nah, I think you guys are," Cassie added in. Soldiers piled in with guns, cautiously surrounding the twins.

"Took you guys long enough," Bart said aloud.

"We got it from here," Colonel Weston replied while ordering his men to stand down and a few to handcuff the Terrors. "You kids can go now."

As the heroes left, Robin shook his head in disbelief. "You're welcome," He mumbled.

* * *

**The Watchtower **

**August 18 19:55**

The small team stood straight in a row as they faced Batgirl and Captain Atom for their debriefing.

"The four of you did well in quickly accessing the situation at AmerTek." Captain Atom began.

Bart folded his arms as he said quietly to himself, "They could have been more appreciative." Jamie elbowed the young speedster.

"We will be working on tracking down who hired the twins in attempts to steal the energy cannon."

Batgirl opened up the holographic computer for all to see as she spoke. "The Terrors were taken out, although something was still taken through all the ruckus."

"Someone else used the distraction to snatch up an extra prize." Robin concluded, studying the Intel.

Babs nodded. "The video feed was damaged and only caught in very brief glances. No telling who our mystery guest was. AmerTek won't exactly give us the purpose of their missing little device either. Only that they want it back."

"Sounds like they need a talking to," Cassie replied.

"Someone in the League will deal with that." Captain Atom added. "The four of you are dismissed."

* * *

_A big thanks to XRedVengeance for continuously helping out with my writing and ideas. I'm not the best with action scenes and I will have to get used to calling Bart, Kid Flash… This will be part one of possibly three, so kind of longer like an episode. Just split up for faster updates. Things will be better explained as I go along. _

_Please tell me what you thought along with anything OR anyone you think I should add in. And don't forget to along with your review, add alerts if you haven't already. :D_


	3. Predicament part 2

_Thank you guys for all the attention this story is getting. I do have a few upcoming chapters in the big developing period. Yes, I haven't updated as soon as I wanted. With the previous week busy and extremely emotional weekend where I found out a friend passed away, I'm finally back. I needed the time to talk to some other old friends as well. Sorry if any character seems a little OOC. _

_And for anyone who was affected by all that went on in Boston and now Texas, my heart and prayers go out to you. So much has been going on lately… _

_Disclaimer: I only own the plot. All characters belong to DC and Young Justice._

* * *

**The Watchtower**

**August 18 20:16 **

"There you have it folks. Last night, three muggers caught by _Plastic Man_." G. Gordon Godfrey gestured to the front page of the newspaper in his hands before tossing the paper aside on the desk. Bart put down the remote after a few minutes of aimlessly browsing through the channels on the large screen. He continued to watch the report, leaning back against the couch with his arms folded and lips forming a straight line.

"A bit of a sloppy job I might add as he allowed one of them to slip right through his fingers. The police had to stop the last one after he managed to rob _five_ additional people, _in one night_. One of them ended up in the hospital from substantial injuries. Not as bad, I'm afraid, as two weeks ago when Green Lantern performed that little stunt to stop a runaway train two weeks ago in Coast City. Remember that? Well the 16 people harmed in that do. These so called "heroes," The talk show host paused and quoted with his fingers before moving on, his voice rising, "have been causing _more problems than fixing them_."

Tim, who was sitting in the corner of the room while working on his computer, loudly groaned as he looked down, resting his head on his hand. No wonder people were starting to hate them. "Bart, turn that junk off."

"From that event, we have with us victim Arthur Reeves who is willing to tell his story on how he has been hurt..."

The brunette speedster frowned and switched the channel before turning off the television, slumping back into his seat in complete boredom. His attention was soon caught by someone humming. Cassie walked in, having recently emerged refreshed from the shower, lightly bobbing her head back and forth as she quietly sang the catchy song that had been stuck in her head since she heard it on the radio.

Bart jumped up and grinned when he recognized the song. The thirteen year old immediately joined in. "It's always a good time!"

Cassie stopped and smiled widely before opening her mouth to sing louder. The pair joined side by side in happily singing the rest of the song. Tim on the other hand, looked like he was about to bash his head into his computer.

"Good morning and good night. I wake up at twilight." Cassie sang out until Bart joined her again. "It's gonna be alright. We don't even have to try, it's always a good time!"

By the time the mixed vocalizations started up again, Tim refrained his hardest from slamming the laptop closed. "Okay," He loudly replied, a bit exasperated. "I think that's enough."

Bart zipped over to the annoyed boy wonder, the goofiest smile on his face. "Why? Is someone jealous?"

Tim raised an eyebrow. "Of your singing?" He responded. "No. I'm just not a big fan of the song."

Cassie giggled and gave Tim a kiss on the cheek which he lightly blushed and shrugged away. Cassie rolled her eyes and smiled.

Bart shrugged. "Hater," He merely replied. The speedster stepped back and stretched his arms. "Well, not that this isn't fun hanging out with you guys, but I should probably head back to Central City. No doubt that Flash will need me to do patrol again."

"Or help babysit," Tim added with a smirk.

Bart gave him a look and nervously chuckled. "Yeah… that's his responsibility. Later!" Bart took off and out of sight. Robin would soon himself migrate back to the Batcave to get ready for an expected late night. Word was out that Killer Moth managed to escape Arkham. Again.

Mal Duncan soon arrived at the docking area with the Sphere-Cycle full of supplies for the Watchtower. Miss Martian had the bioship with Beast Boy and Superboy, who were still helping Green Beetle on Mars. Cassie greeted him and enthusiastically offered to help as she waited for her mentor to come back from whatever mission she set out to do with Hawkwoman.

As Mal and Cassie finished unloading the boxes and bags from Sphere Cycle, they were too occupied as a lid to one of the wooden boxes barely opened. Submissively, a fairly small figure clothed entirely in black from head to toe, slipped out of the box, careful to quietly put the lid back in its place before taking off. She kept hidden in the shadows; dark eyes the only thing visible through the full mask as she quickly scanned her surroundings.

"Do you think that with Red Tornado we will have to create a new phylum?"

"No. Technically he is more an imitation of life in the matter of science."

She froze for a second as the voices neared. Bumblebee and Atom rounded the corner, fully immersed in their conversation. As they continued down the hall and out of sight, the black clad figure dropped down from the ceiling gracefully on all fours. She glanced back for a moment for clearance before continuing her secret quest through the Watchtower, unseen by any passerby.

Elsewhere, Kaldur stood in the back of the interrogation room, his arms firmly folded against his chest. J'onn's eyes glowed for a moment as he carefully probed around the mind of one of their three prisoners, having given up on verbal confrontation. After the Santa Prisca incident, a couple months previous that ultimately drove a wedge between the Light and the Reach as real intentions were revealed, the League brought back their important captives of the Light to the watchtower. They didn't want to put Black Manta, the Brain, and Monsieur Mallah in Belle Reve when they were so high up and could have potentially vital information for the rest of the Light's plans. So far, nothing had really been uncovered by any of them.

The intelligent gorilla proved difficult in understanding much of what was in his mind other than his complete devotion to protect his master, the Brain. The jar protecting the Brain was also impossible to get through and must have had some sort of telepathic barrier built in and he refused to speak a word.

Kaldur watched as J'onn stepped away from Manta, motioning to Superman who was standing by the door, to take him back to his cell with the other two. Manta glanced up at Kaldur before letting his head drop as he was led out. Kaldur in turn, remained completely emotionless before following J'onn outside in the hall, going in the opposite direction.

"Anything?" The Atlantian questioned.

J'onn shook his head. "I believe that he did not know much ahead of time especially when things made a drastic change as their current plans were spoiled. Black Manta mainly followed the orders he was given when it comes to the Light." The Martian paused as he studied the younger hero. "Are you certain you wanted to be in there?" He eventually asked.

Kaldur gave a nod. He was the closest to Black Manta while working under his direction. He would be best to pick up any signs of deception when he spoke. If Manta said anything that was. Kaldur had nothing to do with that man other than their relations. That didn't stop Kaldur from those rare thoughts of if things could be different.

Superman soon rejoined them. Catching onto their slight expressions of disappointment, the Man of Steel encouragingly replied, "We'll catch a break soon enough,"

Meanwhile, Black Manta sat on the cold bench inside his electrified cell, staring at the ground as he touched the inhibitor collar around his neck before putting his metal chained wrists down in his lap. The League had put one on him and Mallah for safety precautions. The Brain was stationed with chains latching him on the other side of the bars with the giant gorilla. Manta didn't bother pulling against his restraints as he was lost in thought.

When he found out about his son nearly a year ago, his heart momentarily soared before dropping. There was no way that his hero son would ever want anything to do with him. Then, he got caught off-guard when Kaldur begged to join his side soon after losing a teammate that was close to him, saying he wanted nothing to do with the League or his friends anymore and personally go after Oceanmaster. Black Manta agreed to help take out his competition. The father would grow more proud as his son became an important asset, willing to do anything without holding back. When Kaldur's personal lieutenant Tigress turned out to be Artemis and his whole act faked, Manta's heart completely dropped like an anchor in the sea. His own son had turned against him and he let his guard down. He should have known better not to have soft feelings about anyone.

Manta barely noticed the door softly creak open before clicking shut. From the corner in the darkness, a small object glided across the room, attaching itself to the control panel. After a short circuit, the electrified bars shorted out. Mallah pulled out the Brain's jar from its confinements and held it carefully in his hands. Manta leaned forward, cautiously touching the warm metal bars as they were no longer surrounded by bolts of electricity. A small dark figure stepped forward, still mostly concealed in the shadows of the darkened room. She pulled out a small metal box from her pocket, holding it out in front of them before pressing a few buttons.

Aqualad, Martian Manhunter, and Superman continued their walk toward the main room. "We may need to come up with a new solution in learning the Light's intentions. I fear that they may plan to strike soon and—"

"Wait," Superman replied, interrupting Kaldur and holding up his hand. He listened carefully to what the other two couldn't pick up on. His eyes widened as he turned back to the others. "Something's going on in the containment room!" He briskly said.

An alarm rang as soon as he spoke and the three rushed down the other end of the hall. Superman burst open the door, Kaldur right behind him and J'onn phasing through the wall. The three stood frozen at the sight. The three members of the Light were gone.

* * *

_Any guesses? :P _

_Leave me a review please! _


	4. Predicament part 3

_He he he... Hey guys. Sorry for the delay. Life can really push at you at random moments and tie you down. Between nonstop babysitting, massive headaches, constant care for baby chicks, and recent loses these past two months, I had a bit of a damper on my writing. Not to fret, I have not given up. The ideas are returning and I am taking them as fast as I can. That and summer is upon us. Hopefully your wait will be proven satisfactory. I appreciate the reviews and such. You all are wonderful. _

_And for anyone affected by the destruction in Oklahoma, I'm praying for you. _

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Young Justice and the DC universe. I'm just borrowing for entertainment. That doesn't mean I have to give them back anytime soon…_

* * *

**The Watchtower**

**August 18 21:09**

"Recognized, Batman 02."

The Dark Knight was not too thrilled to hear what news Red Tornado informed him with, putting a stall on his search in his city for a breakout. He immediately followed the sounds of loud conversation through the watchtower, one of the speakers of which sounded a little worried and apologetic. Batman narrowed his eyes at the small group gathered inside the Surveillance Room. Guy Gardner waved his hands around as he quickly explained his side of the account to Aqualad and Red Tornado. The android checked through the video feeds as Guy rambled on.

"What happened!" The Dark Knight growled in a booming voice. All talking immediately ceased as each stopped to look at him. The blonde Green Lantern looked nervous to face him.

"I was on surveillance watch and I swear, I never saw anyone break in! An indicator blinked that something was off with the cells. I look at the camera to see them standing right by the bars when the floor just opened up and they were gone!" Batman narrowed his eyes to study the guard who had small beads of sweat falling from his forehead.

"He is correct." Red Tornado added, pulling up the video feed and adding a loop. Batman moved past the young Green Lantern who let out a breath he forgot he was holding in.

Looking closely at the screen as it replayed, a tiny projectile hit the control panel and the cells were indeed down. The captives looked up to greet what the world's greatest detective could barely make out as a dark outline on the side before a portal opened up and swallowed them seconds before the three heroes burst into the now empty room.

Kaldur stepped forward as Batman watched it again. "Superman and Captain Atom are searching outside the Watchtower while Martian Manhunter and some others look inside for anything." He explained.

Batman nodded and the young Atlantian soon followed him to the Containment room where a few began their search for answers there. Dr. Fate firmly stood in his place in the middle of the room as he moved his extended hand slowly around. "The escape was not caused by any magical means." The Lord of Order concluded.

Batgirl stood up from her crouched position with a scanning device in her hand. "I'm picking up faint residue of—"

"A boomtube." Batman finished.

"…Yes. But how someone got into the watchtower with one without being detected is still a mystery." In a lower voice, Batgirl asked her mentor, "You don't think that it was one of us, do you?"

"No," Batman firmly answered. "It was done by an outside force."

"How about a possible stowaway?" A voice asked by the door. Martian Manhunter stood in the doorway. "I believe we have something. In the storage room, Blue Beetle picked up from one of the boxes barely registered strands of technology that powers a father box along with a sample of dirt fragments mixed with freshwater particles." Someone must have fit snugly in the tiny space.

Batman gave a nod as Martian Manhunter further explained the findings. "Keep searching and send a small team to investigate the complex."

* * *

**STAR Labs, Chicago**

**August 18 21:34**

The wind slightly whipped against them as the Sphere-cycle landed gracefully along the waterline near the nearly secluded building of the edge of the city. They were sent back to check the location where just a few hours before, Mal Duncan as Guardian, picked up the supplies to keep at the watchtower. Many of the other heroes focused their examination on the tower and efforts to better increase their defenses.

Blue Beetle began an immediate scan in the soil near the water as Guardian and Wondergirl stood nearby. The teen scooped up a handful of dirt and nodded in confirmation as the calculations went through and explained by the scarab.

"Various components of sodium, magnesium, sulfate..." He trailed off before facing the other two. "An exact match to what was found in the box. Our mystery guest definitely came from somewhere on the lake, most likely by boat."

"And managed to sneak on board Sphere." Guardian finished as he folded his arms. Nearby, the sphere-cycle beeped lightly in response.

Beetle stood up. "Well, time to get started to see what we can find." Blue Beetle and Wondergirl began their investigation along the perimeter of the building for further clues, she given her own scanner to track. Guardian went inside the building to talk to the personnel in their accounts and hopes to gather some useful video evidence from the security cameras.

Blue Beetle moved along near the ground, searching for anything that could trace back to their intruder. After a while, he landed on the ground when he saw a large hole in the fence surrounding the Labs building. He cautiously walked up to it to inspect. Jamie called in to the others.

"Mal—Guardian, I don't know how good STAR Lab's security is, but there is a huge hole in the fence. Looks like it has been torn through or—" Blue Beetle was cut off instantly from a roar seconds before something big rammed into him.

"Blue? What's going on?" Wondergirl asked as she turned around and flew towards the commotion.

"Just holding off some grumpy monster thing." He grunted as he tried to hold his ground against the ugly blue creature that snarled. Blue's fists were held firmly by the monster, both of their strengths pushing against each other. Blue activated the jet pack to gain a momentary leverage, pushing the monster backwards a few feet. The monster let go and growled before moving forward at a crushing force. Blue took the moment to activate his cannon and shoot. It only seemed to teeter the monster and make him angrier. As Blue prepared to fire again, Wondergirl appeared and delivered a punch to the monster's face. That didn't help much. She joined her fellow hero's side.

"Do you know what this thing wants?" She called out in question as she looked for a weak spot of the monster to throw another striking blow. The monster swatted at her quickly and she barely avoided getting hit.

"That is Blockbuster," Guardian answered for her as he watched the fight through the security cameras along with the guard and a scientist of the lab. "He was transformed by an experiment and normally serves as extra muscle for the Light."

"Great, but any ideas on how to take him down?" Blue asked.

"Maybe," Guardian answered, pondering about the previous encounters the other heroes had with Blockbuster. "Just hold him off."

"No problemo," Blue sarcastically replied as he tried the sonic cannon. Blockbuster pulled up a street light and slammed it into the hero. Blue groaned as he got back up. Wondergirl threw her lasso around the monster, but he instead grabbed the rope and swung her around until she went flying twelve feet back.

The duel ensued with more downs than ups for the two young heroes. Blue Beetle was smacked away and into the wall behind him like a bug. Wondergirl was thrown on the ground. As she looked up horrified to see a fist heading toward her face and no time to move, something shot the creature in the back. Blockbuster screeched and glared at his attacker. The Sphere-Cycle glided closer and shot another series of lasers.

Guardian bolted out of the building, carefully holding some kind of strange shaped weapon in his hands. Time given to the other two young heroes, they get up and all surround Blockbuster, giving off simultaneous attacks to keep him in one place.

"Blue, detain him!" Guardian ordered.

Blue Beetle set a concentrated force on the sonic cannon causing Blockbuster to snarl and cover his ears and end up on his knees. This only lasted a brief moment as he stood up again, determined to take out his annoyances. That was all the time the non-meta of the group needed. Guardian set the frequency on the machine he was holding, directly hitting Blockbuster with a static beam. The monster screeched as the electricity remained on his skin before building up enough energy to cause him to pass out. Guardian immediately pulled out an inhibitor collar and attached it around the unconscious monster's neck.

"We may need to invest in one of these things," Guardian mused aloud, gesturing to the weapon in his hands that took down the formidable foe. The advantage of being at a lab that specializes in technology and research.

Blue paused as he noticed a small cracked item on the ground right next to Blockbuster's head. He carefully picked up the pieces. "It's a standard earpiece." He replied.

"Think someone was controlling him?" Wondergirl asked, peering over Blue Beetle's shoulder.

"It's a possibility. He is known more for being aggressive muscle and lack of brain since becoming Blockbuster. He could have been here in attempts to steal or destroy something." Guardian said. He took out a small plastic container to put the shattered earpiece in. "We'll need to get this analyzed for potential clues."

Blue Beetle gestured to Blockbuster. "One thing is for sure, this guy wasn't the one to get into the Watchtower."

It was silent for a moment as Guardian prepared to call in to report on their findings. Wondergirl voiced the question that was on everyone else's mind. "So then, who got them out?"

* * *

**Disclosed Location **

**August 19 00:57**

Black Manta rubbed his chain free wrists and followed behind Mousier Mallah as the gorilla kept right by the Brain's side as he now had the movable robotic body back. Mallah shifted glances around at anything that could pose as a possible threat to his master. He wasn't going to make the same mistake as last time. The three villains were led by a slender woman in black, her dark brown curls faintly bouncing at each echoing step she took due to her heels. Soon, they reached a huge opening and the woman stopped and gestured them inside.

"Father awaits your presence,"

A green robed man with black hair lightly tainted in grey had his back turned to them. Slowly, Ra's turned around to face his guests. "Thank you Talia," The woman bowed and left. "I apologize for the longer delay in your containment. There were other matters to contend with and we needed to wait for the most profitable opportunity."

Ra's gestured his arm over to the side and a small black clad figure stepped out and in front of the League of Shadows master. She had her ski type mask completely off. The slightly pale-skinned girl, no more than twelve, kept her dark eyes trailed toward the ground. Her short black hair clung around her head as she had worn a full mask for quite some time. She stood perfectly still to Ra's right as he continued, "And had to be certain my little addition was prepared for her task which she performed exceedingly well." He lowered his voice, "You may go now young one," The girl nodded once before she slunk back submissively into the shadows and out of the room.

Ra's then turned to the wall where it lit up with massive screens. The live images of Queen Bee, Lex Luthor, Klarion, and Vandal Savage simultaneously appeared.

"Good to see your little plan actually worked," The Witch-Boy sneered in his high pitched voice.

Queen Bee raised an eyebrow as she asked, "I trust nothing was revealed during your capture?"

"The League could not extract a thing." The Brain replied in his robotic monotone voice.

Black Manta shook his head as he confidently added, "Nothing,"

"Excellent," Luthor began, "Along with Deathstroke's success early this evening at AmerTek while the heroes and officials were distracted by our bait, it has been an eventful day."

"Yes," Vandal added, "A minor setback in your absence, but our plans are set into motion."

* * *

_Not the best, but I hope understandable to tie up a couple of things and start up everything else. I decided not to reveal the mystery ninja girl's name, but she will make an appearance again. I still have other characters to bring in so don't worry that I wasn't able to have everyone here. Now it's your turn. REVIEW! _


	5. Ties

_Apologies for the late update. I've been extremely busy now as I guess you could call a full time nanny for these next few weeks to month. After that, I'll see how it goes. At least for your wait, you got a massive chapter instead of splitting it up like I did the previous three so you wouldn't have to wait for the connecting parts. Enjoy! _

_Disclaimer: I have no ownership to Young Justice or any DC Universe related material that will appear…_

* * *

_**Ties**_

**STAR Labs, Wichita Kansas**

**September 1 20: 19 CDT**

A dark skinned, white haired man stepped out of the main Labs building and onto the sidewalk near the quiet street. Everyone else had long before gone home for the night. He smoothed out his lab coat before stopping suddenly, feeling an object poking out of his pocket. The aging scientist pulled out a tiny metallic figure. The small robot in his palm twisted around and quietly beeped.

"Always trying to take work home with me," he quietly chuckled to himself as he smiled. He tucked the mini-bot back in his pocket. He proceeded back to the door, pulling out his keys and opening up the outside panel. Placing his hand on the scanner, the name **Doctor** **Silas Stone **popped up on the screen. Before he had a chance to type in his personal code, a spinning multi-pointed blade came across in front of him, lodging itself directly above the scanner. Dr. Stone jumped back in terrified shock before quickly looking around. Three submissive dark figures rapidly headed in his direction. Too stunned to move, the scientist stared wide-eyed at the sudden danger before him. A lone arrow shot at the sidewalk, setting off a minor explosion directly in front of the perpetrators who shielded their already covered faces with their arms. A smaller masked figure in dark red and black landed on his feet, his back to Dr. Stone and bow and arrow pulled ready in front of him. Arsenal shot and grimaced as he missed, the Shadows ninjas evading and charging again.

Since his probation hand out, Arsenal had spent most of his time solo, tracking down illegal and behind the scenes business by some big names and payers. This particular trail of activity he'd been following for a few weeks, making connections between reported break-ins of robotic labs as if looking for something. He wasn't sure what they were after, but from the looks of it, he was no doubt dealing with the League of Shadows.

Arsenal moved closer in front of Dr. Stone, his eyes darting back and forth between his three foes, deciding on the most effective move against them. He lunged forward and used his bow as a weapon against their staffs. Arsenal included a few hard jabs of punches and elbows that weren't as efficient as he hoped. Rubbing his own jaw from a counter-attack, he glared and went again, knocking one out. Somewhere in the middle of the fight, another arrow swooshed right in front of one of the ninjas. The momentary higher advantage, Arsenal shot another arrow, encasing both in ice before knocking them out. Satisfied, he smirked until he spotted an arrow wedged into the wall. He pulled it out as he heard someone barely land on the ground behind him.

"I thought you would have forgotten about me, Ollie." Arsenal said aloud. He paused as he studied the arrow. It was slightly smaller than normal. Almost like it could have been from a crossbow…

He turned as a low female voice answered, "I hope you don't say his name aloud to just anyone. He would hate that."

Arsenal was not amused. "Oh, you,"

"Yes, me,"

Arsenal rolled his eyes as he hooked his bow behind him. "What are you doing here, Tigress?"

Artemis tucked her crossbow away and walked closer. "Apparently the same case," She vaguely replied to him before continuing over to the scientist still standing right outside the door. "Dr. Stone?" He slowly nodded at his name. "As you can tell, there is someone after you or more rather something that your department has been working on. The Respometer?"

"The Responsometer," Stone corrected. "A microcomputer chip that has the potential to once connected to a stable metallic being, develop and enhance and artificial brain for independent thought and abilities, but also contain the memory collected and reuse elsewhere." He paused from his ramblings. "It is only in the testing stage." He explained, confused.

"Yes, though others have caught attention. It would be best to place you in a safe house for the time being and put the device under heavy lock and key."

Dr. Stone nodded in understanding. "I will need some time for finishing security procedures before a transfer can be preformed."

"Very well," Tigress glanced at Arsenal who glared at her with his arms folded. She added, "The both of us will stand guard."

The pair followed the scientist into the building, albeit Arsenal hanging behind. Once they both entered the room, he finally spoke up to her in a quiet mumble. "I didn't exactly agree to this. I was doing fine catching word on the street on my own."

Artemis whipped around firmly. "Like it or not, it looks like we'll be working together as we both caught wind of the same assignment."

He lightly huffed. "I thought I was on probation from the League's junior team,"

She raised an eyebrow. "Would you like me to take you off and call in for someone else?" Arsenal stayed silent. "I'm not the League or the head of the Team and am willing to give you a chance to show them a reason to let you back on if that's what you want. Think about it. In the meantime," She gestured over to Stone who was now standing at his desk, "I suggest you keep an eye on his surroundings while I set up a perimeter. I have a feeling that we'll be staying here for a while."

* * *

**Downtown Gotham**

**21: 32 EST**

Roy Harper leaned back on his worn sofa feeling very exhausted. Lian was finally lying down for the night. The light babbling in the other room indicated that she was not yet asleep. Roy sighed. At least she was fairly quiet. It gave him the needed time to take a nice long rest. He closed his eyes…

_Knock. Knock. Knock. _

Blue eyes snapped open as a frown appeared on his face. "Better not be one of those salesmen again." He mumbled. He stayed in his spot and stared at the door. Maybe if he ignored them, they would leave him back to his needed silence. His wish was wasted as a round of knocks followed.

"Roy, you home?"

The red haired archer rubbed his face with his palms and looked up at the ceiling as he groaned. No. It was worse than a salesman. The doorknob jiggled. Roy reluctantly stood up. _Might as well get this over with_.

Roy swung the door open as Ollie was about to knock again. The blonde man lowered his hand and gave a smile. "Hey Roy. You're looking better."

Roy in turn glared at his former mentor. Ollie was dressed in dark jeans and heavy black shoes with a forest green shirt and a dark leather jacket draped over his arm. "What are you doing here Ollie?" The younger asked, annoyed.

"Can't a father check up on his son? Well… you know what I mean." The stare down between the two couldn't have been more awkward on Ollie's part. He shifted his weight to his other foot and proceeded to indirectly look at the red-head. Roy raised an eyebrow, but continued to lean against the doorframe.

"Mind if I come in or are we going to chat at the door?"

Roy purged his lips for a moment before sighing. He stepped back and opened the door wider, gesturing inside. Ollie walked in and glanced around the apartment as Roy closed the door behind him.

"Not a word about the place," Roy warned with his back still turned to him.

Ollie gave a small, somewhat forced smile. "Wasn't planning on it." Ollie sat down on the sofa, shifting uncomfortably towards the edge of the discolored cushion. Roy sat across from him in a stained blue armchair. "So…" Ollie trailed off as he searched for a way to start a conversation, "How has the baby been?"

Roy paused, studying the older man before responding, "Good. Lian is walking all over the place. Have to keep certain things up now."

"Kids can grow up so fast," Ollie paused as he glanced around the room again as if he expected something or someone to suddenly appear. After another silent moment, he asked, "How 'bout the wife?"

Roy folded his arms and narrowed his eyes. "This is more than a _friendly_ visit, isn't it." He stated.

"No. I just—" Ollie sighed, giving up. "Yes," He admitted, "I came here on behalf of the League looking for some leads concerning a case from a few weeks ago. Is Cheshire here?"

"No, and before you ask, I haven't seen _or_ heard from her since the day before last."

Ollie slightly leaned back as he blurted out, "Has she told you anything lately?"

Roy just gave him a look before shaking his head firmly. "What makes you think she'll merely give out info? Jade hardly tells me anything. She likes giving surprises. That's how I found out about Lian."

"Right," Ollie added quickly, "And you decided to keep her quiet until we overheard from Artemis."

Roy shrugged like nothing. Silence passed between them. Ollie subconsciously tapped the edge of the cushions on each side of him with his fingers while Roy stared at the ground. "We weren't exactly on speaking terms." He briskly mentioned.

Ollie opened his mouth to start what would most likely turn into an argument about the reasons before he stopped. He paused for a moment. "And I'm trying to fix that if you are willing."

Once the awkwardness was able to be set aside some, Ollie and Roy began a bit more of a friendly conversation to kind of reconnect. At another point of silence on figuring out what else to say, the guys barely noticed as a slender figure slipped through the back window. She froze partially before slowly adding the other leg inside and firmly folding her arms. "I didn't realize you planned on company." She replied cooly.

"I didn't." Roy corrected. "He dropped by."

Jade never took her eyes off the blonde man across the room, her hand rested upon the handle of one of her sais safely tucked away in her belt. Ollie did the same, sitting up straight, prepared to dart up and fight at a moment's notice. Trying to put the heavy tension aside and completely avoid an outburst, he smiled as he began, "Jade, I know—"

"Cut to the chase Greeny. I'm not in the mood for a _civil_ conversation." She tapped her foot lightly in impatience.

Ollie immediately shut his mouth and nodded in agreement. "Alright, I'm sure you heard of the breakout from the tower a few weeks ago. We have… a number of inconclusive trails to go on and thought perhaps you—"

"No, I'm not going to do work or give out info to any Leaguer."

"Then what would you consider Roy? He's technically been initiated as a member of the League although he has not been active for some time."

Roy rolled his eyes in response. Jade smirked and turned toward him. "My husband of course,"

"How about you don't think of me as someone from the League, but as your father-in-law instead if that would help to talk to each other." Even the Batman could pull of a better smile than what the emerald archer gave at that moment as he forced one cringingly.

Jade's smile immediately became a grim line. "I _needed_ that reminder connection added to my mind again, thank you," She replied sarcastically.

"It's not my favorite thought either," Ollie barely mumbled.

Roy looked back and forth between the two very impressed. This was the longest both had a) survived in the same room without accusing each other much for who knows what and b) not really glaring daggers that probably spoke silent threats. Who knows what would happen by now if Roy didn't remain sitting in the middle of the room. Besides, it was time to break the dangerous tension in the room before something bad _did_ happen. Luckily, Lian seemingly had the same idea. Cries from the other room diminished the momentary silence of the potential dispute.

"Look, I don't plan on helping you or your little buddies anytime soon, but I know nothing about it anyway. Only that they are being more particular on who they inform anything to. Now I think we are finished with your pathetic excuse of an interrogation. You're not intimidating enough." With that, Jade swiftly turned and disappeared into the bedroom. Lian's cries ceased and were followed by happy babbling.

"Told you," Roy added, "And she probably won't come out until you're gone."

Ollie couldn't help lightly chuckling in amusement at the recent scene as he stood up. "Fine by me. At least I see now where Artemis got her boldness from." He headed to the door.

Roy looked away for a moment in uncertainty. In a hushed tone, Roy asked, "How is Artemis?"

Ollie paused, sighing as he pushed his leather jacket on his arm before turning back. "She's been keeping busy, requesting extra assignments." He answered honestly.

* * *

**STAR Labs**

**22:03 CDT**

Tigress leaned against the wall with a foot partially propped against the wall. Her eyes carefully darted back and forth, taking in precise detail of her position between the lab room's window and door. One hand ghosted over her belt of various weapons and projectiles while the other held a small hand-held computerized pad hooked into all security feed. All thanks to a few skills she picked up on from a certain hacker friend or two.

Occasionally Artemis would glance at Dr. Stone who continued fully entranced in his work. He paused for a moment to look over some calculations in his notes. She sincerely hoped that he would be able to finish soon so to locate him elsewhere. She rolled her eyes lightly, still surprised how the scientist won over the argument on his need to stay and download all the research on a safe memory drive that only he or someone with high clearance could decipher. Smart move if only his work could move faster.

Tigress softly touched the base of her ear to ensure the earpiece was still there. It was. The numb feeling was just so natural. Although radio silence was to be maintained per her strong requests and no calls in or out unless vitally required, she just wanted to be sure her back-up would be reachable if desperately needed. She had a small group scattered outside in surrounding areas with views of the building as they rotated around. Arsenal was unaware of their near presence, but they were only for extra precaution. She wanted to see what he could really do himself that they allowed to keep their distance even past a couple minor arguments against it otherwise.

She looked over as Arsenal entered into the room from the hallway from his rounds of building perimeter check. He slightly glared at her, but gave a nod of indication of clearance in the area. Artemis returned the nod and pulled up her pad to scan through the security cameras. It wasn't that she didn't trust her younger companion of being capable of pulling this off, he just could be so arrogant and rather impulsive. She technically had more years of actual training, but couldn't afford to make any sort of mistakes. Not in this line of duty, especially when someone could be at risk.

Tigress glanced up at Arsenal who found his station perched up on an empty desk as he looked out the window. His features seemed to shift into a more slender and longer shape. Red hair appeared to brighten some and his skin darken a bit. Artemis was having a strange sense of déjà vu as this particular moment began to develop into a familiar scene from her first mission with the team years ago, protecting a scientist also hard at her personal work in the middle of the room as she also stood by the door. Much like now. Wally was sitting on a file cabinet, glaring at her and giving rude comments. She would never admit it back then, but she had an attraction to the vibrant speedster even then. She enjoyed the bickering between them and how he managed to prick her heart in a way like never before upon seeing him stumble over in front of her in swim trunks with a load of beach items falling from his grasp and sunscreen heavily smeared across his cheeks. She had fallen hard for him right then and so had he, figuratively and literally, as he admitted a few months into their relationship.

A sad smile tugged at Artemis' lips as the familiar features of her favorite speedster faded away completely back to the irate archer before her as she heavily blinked her eyes. Artemis stood up straight and deeply sighed. She took one last look out the window for any signs of movement before heading out for her turn of walk around rounds and to clear her head. She needed to stay focused on the mission.

Arsenal watched as she left, giving him a brief glance before doing so. The red-headed archer shifted back to his watch. He in boredom pulled out an arrow and tested its weight and properties. He lightly rubbed the dull tip with a finger from his robotic hand before placing the arrow back in the quiver with the others. While given the new defense upgrade, he preferred for the time being the original use of his bow. It was for one thing, something he was allowed to have without dealing with the impending confiscation from the League or the Team. Plus, his android arm gave the advantage of a secret weapon against his foes. He didn't necessarily want to deal with the stuck-up heroes anyway. He was avoiding them fairly decently, doing his own solo work without them throwing reigns on him. He'd been contained long enough.

Arsenal joined in with the new group of powered teens for a time to give them some sort of experienced leadership during the beginning of his probation period. That was until Virgil was initiated into the junior league and the rest kind of disbanded, wanting a break from that kind of life by the end of the Reach Invasion. Harper couldn't say he blamed them. Not everyone was fit to lead out a dangerous life. Still, he knew that spark of the drive would remain in them whenever they were ready to go for it again. It was that same push in himself to take care of those determined to put others down for their own benefits. A bigger scale of the playground bullies when he was young. That was something he would never give up no matter what anyone, especially the League, told him.

Arsenal glanced at Tigress who had made her first round of sweeps through the hall. The orange and black along with the pulled back blonde hair faded into the shadows once more. Arsenal slightly frowned, reminded of her presence. Of course they would eventually catch up to him. He hated the feeling of being babysat. Harper had been doing completely fine on his own. A corner of his mouth rose as he pondered, _The extra hand may prove useful_. She did seem genuine of giving him a chance. Had it been anyone else, they most likely would have kicked him off the assignment from the very beginning.

"You're rather young to be acting so serious."

Arsenal was so deep into his thoughts that he hadn't noticed Dr. Stone watching him. He hoped it hadn't been long, otherwise, he was adding potential failure to the mission not alert to his surroundings.

"You need to learn to be in this line of work."

Dr. Stone gave a simple smile as he punched in a few more codes for letting the system automatically do it's final run through. "Wish I had your strong dedication when I was your age."

He stood up and walked over to the mini refrigerator in the back. He pulled out a container, peering in at the undistinguishable substance and curiosity. "Elinore would have loved to run experiments on this for fun." He quietly chuckled to himself before heavily sighing and replacing the container in his hand for bottled water. "My wife," Stone explained as he headed back to his desk after taking a drink, "She had a real passion for making scientific discoveries of the unknown, yet made its almost every one of our son's football games."

Stone paused and turned towards Arsenal, not quite catching him in his far off gaze. "He was much like you. Determined and never willing to give up. They both ended up in a freak accident three years ago. She didn't make it and our son almost lost his life too that night."

"Sorry," Arsenal barely mumbled.

Stone's face slightly brightened as he turned back to his errand when it beeped an indication of completion. "What's happened is gone by. No use trying to fix or relive the past. Only focus on bettering the future. Elinore would kick me for letting myself feel down about anything."

Harper lightly pondered on the scientists words. They kind of hit home for him as he thought about all the time he spent in a suspended animation. "You have no idea." Harper watched Stone work when he spotted movement from the corner of his eye. He pulled back has bowstring as he rapidly scanned the hallway.

"You know…" Harper droned him out as a tiny metal canister was thrown into the room. Gas immediately emptied from the ends. Acting quickly, Harper switched his arrows and shot the canister encasing it in ice before the smoke had a chance to travel farther. He leapt down from his high position and stood in front of Stone, preparing another arrow.

"Stay alert," he warned the scientist as he set a stance. An outside arrow penetrated the ground a few feet in front of the redheaded teenager. A miniature explosion erupted, forcing Arsenal take a few stumbling steps backwards. He narrowed his eyes as a tall black haired man with a thin goatee and pointy nose dressed in black attire strolled right to the room. A sly smirk plastered on his face and masked dark eyes trained on the young hero, his next arrow inches away from being sent.

"You haven't changed too much since we last met, _Speedy_,"

Arsenal narrowed his eyes, "Merlyn," He growled.

"Oh, so you _do_ remember me."

Arsenal flexed in tightened his hands around his weapon as he looked for an opening. He hadn't heard about Merlyn in about nine years. Of course he was out of it for a majority of that time. The rival archer disappeared right after a victorious challenge against Green Arrow on who was the best. It was Merlyn that Ollie originally became inspired from to use his own version of trick arrows. The dark archer most likely never forgave the hero for copying his 'masterpieces'.

"So how's Ol' Arrow?" Merlyn teasingly asked.

He shot an arrow which Harper barely deflected, only to have it exploded and knock him back a few feet into the desk. Arsenal glanced behind him to see Stone carefully backing up against the wall with the device and his arms. With clenched teeth and determination running through his veins, he darted back up and fired a smoke arrow quickly followed by an explosive glue one. Once the smoke cleared, Arsenal examined the scene. Pink plaster decorated the walls, but held nothing inside. He bolted to the right just in time hearing the swoosh flying right past him.

"You have to do better than that." Merlyn taunted.

More arrows released from both sides. Arsenal began to breathe heavily as he glared at his foe. "Tigress…" He muttered through his teeth as the pressed the communicator in his ear. He hated to admit it, but he could really use some help. He glanced behind, relieved to see Stone still unharmed. Arsenal released another arrow that slightly tore Merlyn's sleeve. The dark archer looked down briefly before notching another arrow.

"Not bad kid," Merlyn shot and a net opened, pinning Arsenal to the nearest wall. The younger lost hold of his bow as it skitted across the room. Merlyn turned toward Stone who guarded the device. He chuckled as he notched another arrow. "But it's time to pick up what I came for."

A projectile knocked the arrow off, letting it patter to the ground. "Not this time," Tigress replied as she threw a bolas. The spinning rope only wrapped around one leg.

"Took you long enough," Arsenal mumbled as he shifted his right arm's form into a blaster.

"Had to take care of some other _buddies_," She explained as she pulled out a few more projectiles from her belt.

Merlyn tore off the bolas in a frustrated growl. His surprise attention was shifted as the net was blasted away from the wall. Arsenal couldn't help but smirk at Merlyn's perplexed expression. He held up his arm blaster for show. "I'm full of surprises,"

Before either the heroes could make another move, a few more dark clad figures entered into the room with weapons ready. "Not these guys again,"

With their attention slightly diverted, Merlin seized the opportunity to fire upon them. Tigress jumped and deflected the arrow, taking her stance against the rival while Arsenal took defense against the ninjas.

Tigress counteracted Merlin, never taking her eyes off of him. She carefully matched every attempted strike mostly with blocks. He in turn watched her movements warily as if to study her. She held back a smile as she recognized his motives.

Merlyn wasn't too difficult to figure out as she learned when in doing some training with him while her father had her learning a few extra techniques. The League of Shadows hired him as a bodyguard of sorts before he took the position as a trainer in mainly archery. Artemis easily picked up on the skill as her main preference of weaponry. Merlyn certainly did not change much since then other than the few gray hairs he earned. She was though, rather curious to what his purpose was in being sent. Surely he must have still worked for Shadows.

Tigress tossed a set of sedative darts. Merlyn managed to dodge and block a couple with his bow. He vaguely inspected the tiny points embedded in the heavy frame. "You're a sly one," He remarked.

"You should know," She smirked before adding the last word mockingly, "_Master_,"

He followed her gaze and noticed one dart had struck him. Unluckily for her, the penetration was not deep enough in the heavy Kevlar body armor. He flicked away the offending object and narrowed his eyes. "A former pupil. Let's see what you remember." Merlyn advanced forward.

The battle continued on from both ends of the room. Stone struggled to keep out of the crossfire as he frantically searched for a secure container to put the nearly finished downloaded microchip in. The biggest step would be putting it somewhere safe. Stone saw a dark figure advance in his direction. In desperation, he picked up and threw a random binder toward the intruder's head.

Having no affect of dissuade other than frustration, the ninja moved ahead. Some kind of blue sonic blast from the outside hit the foe square in the chest, sending him flying into the wall. Arsenal dodged out of the way of being hit, then stared at the direction where the blast came from. Tigress was confused also on what had happened. Merlyn took the momentary distraction of the heroine, slamming her hard to the side. The dark archer snagged the Responsometer right up from the scientist's hands. He grinned as Arsenal was kicked in the gut by one of the others.

"It's been fun," Merlyn slipped out of the room followed directly by his aides and a stumbling Arsenal.

Artemis grimaced and rubbed the back of her head that was sure to have a knot from coming into contact with a heavy bookcase. She rapidly touched her communicator. "Perp has the chip. Intercept NOW!"

Arsenal was far from admitting defeat. There was no way that he was going to let Merlyn disappear again. They had reached the outside. Ignoring the pain aching through his body, he hoisted his right arm by his left and aimed. Once subject was in direct range, a dark blur ran across, bulldozing through a couple of the escapees. Kid Flash materialized for a brief second before ramming into another. Arsenal narrowed his eyes in anger of the scene and quickened his pace. Robin leaped down from a balcony. The younger boy wonder swiped his battle staff against Merlyn.

Somewhere during the fight, Merlyn's hand went limp and he lost hold of the microcomputer chip. It shattered in pieces also due to his accidental hit while using his bow as a defending stick. He frowned at the failed expense and the three heroes surrounding. Merlyn made his decision.

"Until next time," In a cloud of smoke, the foes managed to disappear.

Robin sighed as he crouched down to gather the remaining pieces as he called up on his com. "Tigress, they got away, but the chip was damaged."

There was a pause on the other line after a barely audible curse was passed. "No it wasn't." She finally answered with certainty. "It was a fake. It appears that Dr. Stone had the real microchip hidden the whole time."

Bart lightly chuckled. "Nice,"

Arsenal folded his arms. "Dr. Stone seems to not be the only one who had been hiding something important, but I should have guessed that more of you wouldn't be too far behind when Tigress showed up."

Robin stood up and kept his composure as he faced the brooding archer. "Look, we were told to keep our distance and serve as back-up only. You certainly needed it." He ignored the glares sent in his direction and tucked the packaged microchip safely in his belt.

"I thought Blue Beetle would have shown up by now too."

Bart stared at him confused. "Blue? He's on the other side of the country. It was just the two of us."

Now it was Harper's turn to be confused. He looked up at the hole in the window outside of the lab building. "How do you explain the sonic blaster that caused this then?" He gestured to the damaged window.

"An extra defense system?" The speedster offered, shrugging.

Some distance away, a tall, bulky figure in a dark, large overcoat stared at the STAR Labs building. After a long moment, he adjusted his coat and thrust his hands into his pockets. The small red light under his hood disappeared into the shadows of the night as he turned and walked away.

* * *

_I think this chapter turned out much better than the previous three put together. Literally. I have worked out a rough sketch of about 18 chapters overall. Key words, rough sketch, though for a few, I have a ton of ideas contained for that chapter already. I may go a bit different than with the first actual chapter, focusing on the main characters better and others that will be featured. _

_ Would you like any characters to make cameos? They'll probably not have as much attention as Arsenal in this chapter (he deserved some more action and may not appear again for a while). They can be like Kyle Rayner/Green Lantern or even bringing some back like Garth/Tempest and Donna Troy/Troia. I only want three more as my limit. Plus other characters you feel deserve a bit more attention. I'll still have my mains as I will try not to have too many new ones in. I would love to hear your opinions please! _

_By the way, please check out my other story, West Family Chronicles. I hope to have the next chapter up for both stories as soon as I can, though it will be a while. :) _

_Now time to review! _


	6. Favors

_Thanks all for the favs, follows, and reviews. You guys are awesome! Sorry for the long wait. I posted that day (early morning) before everything suddenly got really busy. That and school started back up along with family in town here and there. No one wanted to guess on the unknown character at the end except for one reviewer? I thought I gave a few good references throughout the chapter... oh well. Enough of me rambling. On to the story! _

_Disclaimer: I own nothing in the DC world. A couple crooks in here I did create._

* * *

**Favors**

**Watchtower**

**September 24 16:43 EST **

An electrified disc flew through the air, hitting a shield of kinetic energy and dropping to the ground. "You'll have to do better than that," the young woman taunted as the shield dropped in front of her. She put her hands in front of her as she prepared another stance. Light pink energy highlighted around her body as she lifted off the ground. "This time, try for a more tactical approach."

Her younger opponent nodded as he reached his hand down. Various objects magnetically flew to his hand and he charged them before releasing. Black Canary and Black Lightning watched far off from the side as Rocket and Static continued their fight.

"He's improved," Canary noted, impressed.

"He is a quick learner." Lightning added with a proud smile. After taking in Static to help train him for the past few months, the teenager had soon began to get the hang of having abilities. Static was very much a novice still, but his excitement and persistence to learn drove him to do better.

Aqualad walked in, folding his arms as he joined the mentors' side. He watched carefully as the two in combat moved around the large room, their focus on each other. Kaldur couldn't hold back a small smile. The little group of young heroes that once began with him, Robin, and Kid Flash, really expanded since the beginning. Even if it was few at a time. He wouldn't be surprised if another young potential hero showed up fairly soon.

Rocket jumped, barely putting up a shield to block the flying objects toward her. Static took her brief moment of distraction to try to climb on a large silver disc in attempts to fly around like she did. Rocket only gave him short time to gain altitude before she captured one of the objects thrown at her using her belt's kinetic energy and hurling it at him. Static tossed and dodged fairly well against her attacks until she caught him off guard with a fast one. He tumbled off his metal disc and heading toward the ground before he managed to bring the disc back to him, catching himself. The sudden weight on the metal plate stalled his fall momentarily before he lost balance and landed on the ground.

"Static, Fail." The electromagnetic teenager groaned as he stood up. Rocket landed next to him.

"You're keeping up," Rocket grinned and ruffled his hair. Static made a motion to duck and protect his head, but smiled anyway. Soon after finding out that they both came from Dakota City, it wasn't hard for them to develop a type of sibling bond.

"Not bad, but you need to work more on your left side. Can't let it be unprotected." Canary advised.

Aqualad stepped forward. "I have a covert mission and would like Static to join in." Black Lightning looked at Virgil before giving Kaldur a nod.

"We leave in one hour."

"Sweet! " Virgil practically jumped with fists pumped. He looked at the others around him before toning down, his hands at his sides. "I mean... cool." The rest couldn't hold back a smile at his enthusiasm.

* * *

**Gotham **

**20:57 EST**

Alarms filled the silence of the night. Two thugs, one bulky and the other lanky, stood over the display cases of the jewelry store. The scrawny one nicknamed Skid, cringed as the alarms continued to go off while his partner thrust handfuls of jewels in his dark bag. "Let's scram before company shows up Ed,"

The bigger guy with a deep scar over his right eye stuffed another handful in his bag. "Them coppers are slow," Ed gruffly answered in a heavy city accent. "We'll be past Broad before they even get here."

Skid nervously looked outside as he passed back and forth while grabbing a bundle of jewelry and sloppily putting it in his bag. Ed rolled his eyes as he mumbled to himself, "If you shut the alarm off like you were s'posed to,"

Much to Skid's relief, the two guys finally ran out with their bags over their shoulders. A batarang flew and wedged itself in the wall next to their heads. Skid jumped back in shock, clutching the bag close to his chest. "It's the bat!" He shrieked.

A figure leapt down, red hair flowing from the back. "No, it's the brat." Ed snarled.

Batgirl smirked. "Oh for me? You shouldn't have."

She threw another batarang, easily knocking the bag out of Skid's hand. Ed mumbled a string of curses towards his scrawny partner before charging towards the vigilante. Batgirl swerved out of the way and jumped, putting her feet on the back to push forward. He staggered a bit as she landed on her hands and flipped back up, throwing a few more batarangs in the process. As the irritated big thug charged again with a growl, she threw a couple bolas at his legs and arms, causing him to fall forward with a thud.

Skid whimpered at the sight before grabbing his fallen bag and making a run for it. He didn't make a few feet away when he was pinned to the wall in two places by his coat. Batgirl stood in front of him with her hands on her hips. He immediately dropped the bag and held up his hands in defeat as sirens were heard approaching, rambling on something about only hired and not really wanting part of the heist.

After the crooks were handcuffed and guided to the police cruiser, Babs earning a mean glare from one and complete avoidance from the other, Commissioner Gordon approached the young vigilante to thank her. "Great work again Batgirl," The older man said with a large smile.

Batgirl left with a short salute, taking to the skies with a fired cable line. She smiled as she landed on a nearby rooftop. It was always fun to make an epic exit. Waiting until the cop cars left, she sighed, taking in the again peaceful night. Batman was tracking down Joker with Robin, leaving her alone to do regular nightly patrols. Not a moment of tranquility passed when she spotted a dark shape from the corner of her eye. Instinctively, she whirled around and pulled out a batarang, searching.

"Quite a night, isn't it."

Babs dropped her stance, relaxing as she recognized the voice. "Not really. It's been slow." She put away her projectile and leaned against an air vent pipe sticking out on top of the roof. "So what brings you back to our neighborhood?"

"Visiting," he merely replied, stepping out of the shadows. The blue bird symbol sketched across the front of the chest of his black suit faintly glowed in the dim moonlight first before the rest of his body followed in sight.

Batgirl smirked. "It _must_ have been a long time. You're growing your hair out some I see,"

Nightwing looked down at his dark hair that now reached past his ears before shrugging it off as nothing. "Eh, just trying out a new look I guess."

Babs raised an eyebrow as she pushed off the vent to stand up. "Looks good. So how are you keeping up with things while on leave? It's not been the same with you gone."

He looked down at his suit as if to pick off an offending piece of pebble. "I've been busy."

"I've noticed." She paused, watching as her fellow comrade briefly tensed before putting on a bright face. "I know your signature Dick. You are one of the very few who can hack past my firewalls. Luckily not all of them..." She trailed off for a moment to study him, seeing right past his put up facade. "And you need me to get files you can't reach."

"You know me too well." Nightwing gave a smile as he moved towards her, holding his hands as if playfully pleading. "Please Babs? Can you do this tinsty little favor for me? He pinched his fingers together for show of little before heavily sighing. He soon dropped the smile and turned away, gazing off in the distance. In a soft voice, he continued, "That can't be it. I know there is a chance of Wally still being out there somewhere. He wouldn't have just faded away to nothing." He gets quiet as he looks at her.

She has a hard time looking at him. Even with the mask in place, she could imagine the tender hurt that must cloud his baby blue eyes. After a long silent moment, she sighed, giving in. "Alright, I know how important this is for you. I'll help you with _only_ what you need. Even though I still do hacking sometimes for Batman and League business, I don't want to get caught."

"Thank you Babs,"

He hands her a flash drive, but she puts her hand up after she accepts it. "I trust your instincts on this Dick, but I care about you too much to see you hurt more if that chance is too far gone."

He nodded stiffly, his expression stern. "It's a chance I'm willing to risk." The two part ways with a short embrace. "Tell everyone that I said hi."

"You know they would love to hear it straight from you whenever you want to come back." He didn't answer. After a moment, she added, "Take care of yourself."

"You too Babs,"

Batgirl was again left alone to the night. She stared at the flash drive still in her hand. "I do hope you're right," She whispered to herself.

* * *

_And I'll end it there for now. I don't know that much about Static so I hope I portrayed him well enough. I promise to try to have the next part up when I can. I'll aim for the minimum of once a month updates with everything going on and updating my other stories as well. Now it's your turn. Please review! And don't forget to add alerts if you haven't already! :D _


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